DAUK has condemned a decision by US President Donald Trump to revoke the 2009 ‘endangerment finding’ that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health.
The Doctors Association UK warned the move posed a serious threat to global public health.
Dr Matt Lee, DAUK’s sustainability lead, said: “The health impacts of climate change do not respect national borders.
“Decisions made in Washington affect disease burdens worldwide, including in the UK.”
Greenhouse gases
The so-called endangerment finding formally established that greenhouse gases endangered public health and welfare.
It has provided the legal foundation for federal emissions controls in the US.
Its removal dismantles a cornerstone of evidence-based public health protection at a time when the health impacts of climate change are intensifying, said Dr Lee.
Climate change
DAUK emphasised that climate change was not solely an environmental issue but a public health crisis with immediate consequences for patients.
Rising temperatures are increasing heat-related mortality, air pollution from fossil fuel combustion is driving cardiorespiratory disease, and extreme weather events are disrupting healthcare systems, destroying homes and threatening food security.
Shifting climate patterns are also expanding the geographic range of infectious diseases. These harms are documented, measurable and affecting patients now.
Patient safety
By stripping away the scientific and regulatory basis for controlling greenhouse gas emissions, DAUK said the decision represents a rejection of evidence-based policymaking in favour of ideology, with predictable and preventable impacts on patient safety.
DAUK’s position is clear in that climate action is health protection.
Dr Lee said: “Trump’s actions are anomalous on the global scene, with more than 99% of scientists across the world agreeing that climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels and is already harming human health.
“The USA is an outlier in increasing it’s reliance on fossil fuels, with even China’s emissions now in decline.
UK climate leadership
“But we cannot let that distract from demonstrating climate leadership in the UK.
“To be clear, any political party that is threatening to rollback environmental protections or scrap net zero poses the very same threat to human health in the UK.
“We must, as healthcare professionals should always do, focus on the science, challenge misinformation and encourage our leaders to take stronger climate action for the sake of all our health.”
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